We therefore turned aside and entered into the smaller court, and all rose to do honor to the Sanhedrim. Then one of us said to him, “Rabbi, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now, Moses in the Law hath commanded that such should be stoned: what sayest thou?” Now, when the man told him that the woman had been taken in the very act of adultery, a deep blush passed over his face, and he turned his eyes downwards. Then he bent down to the ground, hiding his face altogether from us, and writing, as it were, something on the sand of the floor. Now, at first, I thought of the cry of the money‐changers that I had heard, and felt ashamed in my soul that such a question should be brought before this man, of all men: for our Sages have said, “The greatest of sins is this—to bring a blush upon thy neighbor’s face in public.” But the others thought not of this, but once more they asked him, “Rabbi, what sayest thou shall be done in this case?” Then, without raising his head, Jesus said in a low tone, “Let him among you that is without sin cast the first stone.” Then we saw that his shame had been for us, and for our want of feeling in putting such a question in the very presence of her who had sinned. And in this matter we hold that sin can be in thought as well as in act, and which of us could say that we were without sin even in thought? So, in very shame, we turned and went, and left Jesus alone with the woman. Yet, after we had come away from him, Matathias ben Meshullam said, “That is well,—we are rightly rebuked; but yet, dost thou not see that this man hath not answered our question, nor do we know, as we wished, what attitude he takes towards the carrying out of the Law? I hear that each morning he preaches to the people in the Temple. Let us now tomorrow put such questions to him that he cannot evade, and find out to which of our parties he belongs; for this is a man that is getting great weight with the people, and it imports us to know where he stands with regard to us.” So it was determined among us that the next morning a Sadducee and a Pharisee should put to him queries which should determine what views he held on the great questions which distinguished the two great parties of the State.